#rivervale_lodge

Dagmar is staked out in the main room, flopped across a couch, her nose in... a book? Yes, one of the bird books Brekke mentioned.

Gerd peeks in, then beams "You're back!"

"Hey Squirt. Yeah."

A hug, though a cautious one in its way, quick brief and not too crushy. she knows Dagmar doesn't always like em

"I figured, but it's still good to see you."

"Bet you liked havin' the whole joint to yourself."

"Well, the Mountain was missing the chief and siv, and Miss Kerri was still here with Mr. Olgar so it's not all alone, and there's my uncle Vali. But there was no one else my age. I'm kind of used to that in a way but.. the extra space was nice sometimes. Got lonely-ish? after a time. How about you? You like birds now?"

"Trying to find some of the ones I saw..."

"neat. They say the boys have the prettier feathers usually but I don't think that's fair" a grumble

"Dunno... I mean, with people, girls are expected to do all the dressing up."

She twirls her flowered skirt "Yup. "

"So, maybe it's just being fair."

"Like, Nature."

Gerd wrinkles her nose "Maybe. Still, I feel sorry for the girl birds"

"I don't. Not everything has to be pretty."

"And they're pretty too, just... browner, maybe."

"Well, I guess they are pretty despite the brown, and I know not everything has to be pretty but still, it's nice to see pretty things and to wear pretty stuff. At least I think so."

"Well, ain't nobody stopping you."

"True... but you make it sound bad. SOmetimes I Think you don't LIKE being pretty" SHe says "Is it because you don't like boys? It's okay. You can wear pretty things just because you like em"

She scowls. "I don't want to be pretty."

"Why not?"

Gerd seems perplexed

She shrugs. "You're little, you don't get it."

"Fine" A sigh

"Boys are gross."

"If you're pretty, they see that as an... invitation, right? To get all grabby."

"And it'll be your fault, for being pretty. Makin' them watch you, right?"

"Well, Miss Kerri says that they're wrong to think that and I heard him talking to the other wilder girls about it. We're not here for them, and they're not here for us."

She does mimic Kerri's stance as she quotes

A snort. "That ain't how it really is, though."

Gasp! Blasphemy! "Miss Kerri says sometimes folks don't behave, but bad apples don't spoil the bunch if you kick em when they act rotten!" THen a pause "Okay, that might have been something Mr. Olgar said. I forget."

"Maybe. Just... well, I ain't gonna be pretty anyways. Too big to be a proper girl."

"Not among troll guys, and if they give you grief you got an axe..well, uhm pole arm. " She nods approvingly then "I think yo're kind of pretty. When you're happy? Your eyes grow so shiny."

"I do have an axe."

"And it's a LOVELY axe" She says nodding "You go back to reading your book. I'm gonna color some colors on some birds in a coloring book...one of the girls is getting blue like me" a firm nod

"I bet there's a blue lady bird. I'll look."

"please" hopeful "Thank you."

and she scoots off, irrepressibly upbeat